Take Me to Your Leader
Posted on Sat Mar 30th, 2019 @ 2:40pm by Captain Mrazak & Lieutenant Karna Zsan & Lieutenant Colonel Storr Garlake & Lieutenant Commander BaoJun Qiao & Ferrofax & Lieutenant Commander Kazyah Linn
Edited on on Mon Sep 23rd, 2019 @ 11:13am
4,242 words; about a 21 minute read
Mission:
S1E3: Barbarians at the Gates
Location: Song of Stars, Lagashi astral arcology, T'ien system
Timeline: MD 2
Force of habit put Mrazak at the forefront of the group. Pressing through the swell of people proved far more challenging than one would have anticipated. If anyone had noticed him trying to get through, they paid him no mind all the same. They were never going to make it to Admiral Huang's office at this rate. Clearing his throat, he turned to Bao. "Commander... if you please?"
Bao looked around. They had, in fact, been allowed to beam into the correct general area, but not directly into the field office. Even then, though, the place was far too large and crowded to navigate to the unfamiliar. Thousands of people milled about the plaza, going about their business, though more than a few had stopped to look at them, their uniforms inviting attention, though mercifully, only a few seemed to be giving them hostile looks. Looking at Mrazak, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he looked at the pathing Sunny has laid out through the VR. "You are trying to swim against the current, Commander. To achieve your goal, you must be as the water -- as the water shapes itself to the vessel, the wise man adapts himself circumstances," he said, his normal personality coming through in a moment of enjoyment at Mrazak's discomfort. He motioned the others to follow him as he slipped onto a side path that moved in a wider loop towards the outer area plaza, towards a series of grav lifts that would allow access to the elevated people movers that would zip them through the space more effectively. "Follow closely," he said, "And try not to fall on your face. They move slower to the outside and faster on the inside to allow you to accelerate and decelerate in a more controlled manner," he added motioning to the moving lanes. "Up two levels and take the center expressway, take the third merge on the left, then the second right, which should drop us at the field offices. From there, we'll need to take another lift up the tower to the command center." He looked at Mraak, "Got that, commander?"
"Don't be condescending," Mrazak said through a knowing smirk. "That's my job." The Vulcan threw a wayward glance at Storr and Kazyah. "You two got that as well, correct?"
Kaz ignored the man and continued walking.
Storr didn't let his displeasure show and simply fell in step behind and slightly astride Mrazak. It was still his job to protect the Vulcan though he was afraid that it might be more from himself than any outside threat.
After about ten minutes of navigating through the lifts and movers and an awkwardly long ride up the tower, the erstwhile Theta Team managed to find themselves in an objectively less crowded office area, but possibly more frenetic office as aids bustled about doing, well, honestly, Bao didn't know what most of them were actually doing. He supposed it was probably something officious, seeing as it looked like half the naval command had taken up residence in an office that had been designed for customs enforcement. Before any of the team had time to do much more than look around, or read the room's auras for Bao, an aide had tapped the shoulder of a relatively bland woman and pointed in their general direction. With a brief nod, the woman straightened up from the table and made her way over to them. No more than average height for the room, and utterly nondescript aside from the precision of her uniform, people flowed naturally out of her way as she made her way over. She gave the entire team a once over and looked at Bao, saying nothing out loud, though the two were having a rapid silent conversation.
After a moment, the taller man bowed to her gracefully, "Jiuwendaming," he said as he turned towards the rest of the team. "Commander Mrazak Tow'Lasha our team leader, Lieutenant Colonel Storr Garlake of the Starfleet Marine Corps, and Lieutenant Commander Kazyah Linn of Starfleet Intelligence."
The woman turned her head to each and gave a polite tip of her head to each. "Admiral Huang JunLei an Feng," she said, clipped and in virtually machine perfect precise English, eyes roving in a habitual attempt at reading their non-existent auras. "We were told to expect your arrival. You specialize in the abnormal and unexplainable." A statement. Not a question. "I cannot deny that an explanation for the inexplicable is what is needed here. I trust science specialist Qiao is capable of providing you translation where needed. You are all temporarily granted level 8 access on my authority, equivalent to a field director in our intelligence forces, though without a manner of accessing our mesh, such will be useless." She motioned to Storr and Linn as she turned back towards the table, "Would you care to see our recordings any data of the incident?"
Mrazak nodded. "Very much. Starfleet Security passed on their reports, which were little more than their opinion of the crisis as opposed to the actual data itself. Any firsthand information you can provide will be very helpful."
Huang leveled a stare at the Vulcan. "I was speaking to people competent to give opinions on the matter, not you," she said and turned her attention back to the table making room for the team.
Without any visible cue, the lights dimmed by 20% to give eminence to a robust, full-definition holographic replay of events. Mrazak turned his head to and fro, looking for the source but could not identify it before the light show started. At first, it was just a starfield splayed three cubic meters that showed distant patrols and interstellar traffic at the edge of the system. The dark shroud of space lit up in an oblong starburst from which a single harpoon-shape bio-ship rocketed into the system. Without giving any warning or quarter, it opened fire on the flight line of incoming and outgoing ships before turning its devastating ordnance on the Prosperity's Grace arcology itself.
"Freeze," Mrazak said. "Go back to the moment right before the entry point. Magnify the image by a factor of 20."
Nobody responded.
"Did I stutter?" Mrazak asked, hands spread wide.
The hi-res holographic display deactivated as the lighting returned to standard brightness. A short, well-groomed man had entered very silently and sidled next to the admiral. He whispered directly into her ear, a gesture that seemed out of place. Huang narrowed her eyes.
"Is there a problem, Admiral?"
"Yes, there is," she said bluntly. "Approximately 15 minutes ago our defense systems registered and repelled an attempt to infiltrate our defense mainframe from an outside source. That happens to coincide a little too coincidentally with your arrival, field commander Mrazak." She spun to glare directly at the non-logical man. "You would not happen to know anything about that, would you? I am a firm believer in both Occam and Rand's razors, and I do not believe in coincidence."
Mrazak frowned hard enough to invert his lip. "That is indeed troubling," he said. "We... are here as a resource only. Give and not take, as it were. If you think this digital incursion is in some way related to the attack, then we can pursue it as a lead--otherwise, I feel we should go back to--"
"I believe the data network intrusion was not an ordered action, but the independent actions of a synthetic consciousness. The entity in question has been detained and is being monitored by Lung Bixi. He has taken an...interest in the barbarian program." a female voice spoke from the ceiling. "A Navy Sentinel is with them, in a respectful observance of protocols."
"You did what to my Combat Automate?" Mrazak gasped. "My own network may be vulnerable without him!"
"I believe what the Commander means is that it's possible that our automated network system could be the culprit you're referring to," Kaz said, taking a step forward. "If that is the case, we mean this with the utmost sincerity, we are extremely sorry for any security issue the system may have caused. Sometimes we forget it is there and it runs automated programs to gather information and protect us. We should have deactivated it before we arrived."
Mrazak turned toward the corner and smacked his combadge. "Mrazak to Zelaney. Lieutenant, I need a status report on Ferrofax and the Phantom immediately!"
The combadge had a choking beep in its failure to perform.
Turning back to Huang, Mrazak said, "We came here to help. We can't do that with our systems on lockdown!"
Haung looked between the two men, her features becoming thunderous the longer they spoke. "Be silent," she cut across Mrazak. "Your 'combat automate' as you foolishly called him," she continued, having decidedly not missed the difference in terms employed by Mrazak and Kaz. "Will remain precisely where it is until I am satisfied we know enough about it to ensure future attempts will result in immediate, total, and irreversible destruction of its code." She paused for a moment as another aide-de-camp came forward to whisper quietly in her ear. She nodded and waved him off. "Be extremely grateful, Commander, that you are not Lagashi and have powerful benefactors that see to it you do not join your highly illegal software in detention." She tapped a few buttons. "Your clearance to access this area has been revoked. Go and complete your investigation, Commander, and do not find yourself in my presence again."
Kaz put a firm hand on Mrazak's shoulder that would ideally convey his message without words. His other shoulder was in the Afrikaner's grasp. The message was unmistakable.
Bao stepped forward, "We will comply," he said to the Admiral, trying to smooth over Mrazak's lack of people skills. He glared at Mrazak and gave Garlake a look that he hoped would be interpreted along the lines of 'shut him up and get him out of here' before he bowed to the admiral again. "I am sure Commanders Linn and Mrazak have investigatory matters to oversee with the rest of our team, along with making sure absolutely no further unfortunate incidents arise. However, might I speak with you for a moment before leaving, as a citizen of the Pentad?"
Kaz bowed and said nothing as he practically pushed Mrazak towards the door to the room. Storr followed the bowed slightly as well before turning on his heel and pressing the other two out the door with much haste.
Huang considered a moment before she nodded to allow the other Lagashi to remain to speak. Bao watched Mrazak leave the room before he turned to the admiral to begin the delicate dance of trying to preserve at least some access to the information they needed to conduct a useful investigation. He was cautiously optimistic, seeing as, apparently, Ferrofax had been contained without doing any damage.
Outside the command center, Mrazak elbowed his way free from his pushy colleagues. "Hey, hey, hey! Hands off!"
Bao remained within to have a private word. Mrazak, Kaz, and Storr, three out of Memory Theta's four command officials, were left to regroup on their own. "These Lagashi have no idea what they've done! Obstruction of justice! Impeding a Federation investigation! Perfidy! I'll have that admiral's commission for this!"
Garlake manhandled Mrazak and slammed him into the nearest bulkhead, his fingers digging into to the V'tosh Ka'tur's shoulders to suspend him 4 inches off the ground so that they were eye-to-eye. "Listen up and listen good, Commander," the Station Commandant intoned just barely above a whisper, "your lack of any understanding of this situation, culture, or even proper respect for diplomatic processes will get us kicked off this arcology faster than you can say 'Chesty Puller' which will put us even further back than where we started. Even someone so self-absorbed as yourself has to see the benefit of not trying to call down a bureaucratic hellstorm the moment he doesn't get what he wants...your petulant antics will get us nowhere and will likely get someone hurt though unfortunately it probably won't be you. As the mission's security lead, I must advise you that if your antics increase the threat to the team or are detrimental to mission execution, I will be forced to remand you on the Phantom until such a time as you are no longer a threat to mission accomplishment or its personnel's safety. Duidelik?
Storr didn't wait for an answer and unceremoniously dropped Mrazak to the ground, dusting his hands off in a satisfied manner.
Nearly losing his balance, Mrazak toddled for a second. This was the second time he had been manhandled by Storr, and...
"You unmannered brute!" An open hand struck Storr across the face. Mrazak's hand! He gasped in shock, though quickly fixed his jaw. "Let that be a lesson to you. I'm in charge here and--"
Storr sniggered at the Vulcan's slap, Mrazak's peevish act of both defiance and domination falling flat with the three men. Before the Marine had a chance to respond, however, Mrazak's words were cut off as Kaz grabbed the man by the throat and threw him to the ground, pressing a knee into his sternum. "You listen here you mindless twit. You ever raise a hand to someone on this crew again, or anyone for that matter, and mark my words you will disappear in the dead of night. And I promise, no one would miss you. Now, you will stand up, brush yourself off and be silent until Bao returns."
Kaz stood, giving the man some room to make the right decision.
"I trust the same goes for him!" Mrazak pointed at Storr who simply rolled his eyes He glared at Kaz despite the knowledge that it was a wasted gesture. "I may not be a big scary ape or a blind assassin, but I have watched planets die. We will do what we came here to do, and we will do it so successfully that I will forget to make you victims of a ghastly quarantine breach."
A nondescript man with large black eyes sauntered near the group. Just before his final step that would have taken him past them, he pivoted on his heel and leaned between Kaz and Storr. "Do you gents have the time? Time to sleep. You are so very sleepy..."
Mrazak blinked at the completely unpredictable non sequitur. What's more, is he did start to feel a bit drowsy.
"No, not you." The Betazoid flicked Mrazak across the forehead. "We have grave matters to discuss."
Under silent protest, for he was truly struggling for words, Mrazak found himself pulled away from the other two. Words gone. Make speech hard.
"Forget my face," the Betazoid said to Kaz, then to Storr he said, "and dream of large women."
The Betazoid wrapped his arm around Mrazak like an old friend and casually escorted him away.
One moment Storr was standing and silently cursing himself for letting his guard down as an interloper broke into their circle and the next...well, Tchaikovsky would be blushing as it wasn't visions of sugarplums dancing in the Commandant's head. The large human collapsed to the floor with a resounding *whump*, a dumb grin on his face and unfocused eyes belying the inward focus of his mind.
The world swirled in Kaz's head as he grasped a nearby wall to steady himself. The thud he heard let him know that Storr didn't withstand the mental onslaught. Though truth be told, he was finding it difficult himself.
A few minutes passed before the fog cleared and Kaz was able to stand again. He looked around, stepping over Storr's heap of a body on the ground, looking for Mrazak and the stranger. They were nowhere to be seen, but they couldn't have gotten far.
"I'll be back," he said, despite knowing the Marine couldn't hear him and disappeared into the crowd.
Kaz's disappearance had zero impact on Garlake as drool began to pool on the cold bulkhead beneath him. Even if the words had registered, Storr simply would have waved him off; things were only starting to get really good.
The splash effect of the Betazoid's glamor trick faded from Mrazak's mind. Clarity returned to him even as he was being dragged away.
"Who are you?" Mrazak asked. "Unhand me!"
"My name is Karna, my fine Vulcan, and believe it or not we are on the same side." The effervescent grin on the Betazoid's face made the claim even more spurious.
"Then why did you steal me away from my..." Mrazak nearly said friends. "... team. We are here under the sanctioned mandate of Starfleet Intelligence to--"
"You are under no such thing," Karna said, still swiftly moving. "I know all about you, Mrazak Tow'Lasha, not just your work with Memory Theta but also your naughty little brotherhood."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Mrazak barked with indignation.
Karna chuckled. "Oh, allow me to explain. You on Memory Theta, Hannok on Bynaus, Sylar on the USS--"
"Will you be quiet!" Mrazak seethed. "The V'tosh Ka'tur have had to fight for every step, every scrap of recognition! We are--"
"But of course," Karna said, rounding a corner toward the grav lifts. "There is no need to explain. I am something of an outsider to my people as well. Were I born Vulcan, I have no doubt that your people's philosophy would be quite..."
A prick on the back of Mrazak's neck made him turn his head back. Rounding the corner they had just passed was none other than Kazyah Linn.
"... interesting." A dark glint shone in Karna's black eyes.
"That man is incredibly dangerous," Mrazak warned. "You might want to consider giving me up."
Karna gave a deep, baritone giggle. "Or we could kill each other and rid you of two problems."
That left Mrazak flabbergasted, as the very thoughts had just passed through his mind. "Stay out of my mind!"
Rather than reply, Karna ducked under a door marked in Federation Standard as "Yangzhou Bathhouse", escorting Mrazak along the way in the firm embrace of his arm.
"Welcome to you, boss!" announced a cheerful and portly Lagashi man. "Can we--"
"Private room," Karna said. "Now!"
The proprietor looked at the two men and turned giddy. "But of course!" He summoned attendants with two claps of his hands. "Take these men to the back and see to their every need."
Mrazak balked at the small crowd hurrying them off to gods knew where. "Kaz!"
A few minutes passed before Kaz burst through the front doors. He walked up to the main desk and slammed his hand down, "Two men just walked in together, where'd they go?" he demanded. The sounds of moaning in the background annoyed him, couldn't they have picked a less seedy spot?
"Oh, I think I know just the men you require, boss." The chubby proprietor ushered Kaz beyond the foyer into the waiting doors. Multiple pools arrayed outward for dozens of meters, many open but others enclosed by polyceramic coverings for privacy. Many of them were filled and otherwise occupied, but the third one down the row featured two Lagashi men.
"I assure you these men would love to get more acquainted with you." The proprietor let out a sly chuckle that matched his grin.
"I'm looking for specific men. One is a Vulcan, they came in a few moments before me," Kaz said, ignoring the two men who were now rubbing his shoulders and chest. He nudged them both away, but they always came back.
Kaz took a step towards the man, "Tell me where they are or I'll kill you right here."
The proprietor gasped in shock. "Security!"
At his outburst, small drones popped out of hidden alcoves and hovered in a circle around Kaz. The whir of their targeting systems were a warning unto themselves.
"I think you'd better leave, boss," the proprietor said, the giddy flesh-peddler persona replaced by a stone-cold businessman.
"Spoilsport," muttered one of the men Kaz had shoved away as the two hurried away to more welcoming company.
Kaz grumbled to himself, hating that he was bested. He hadn't anticipated drones in such an establishment, but he probably should have. He was definitely losing his touch. Setting his shoulders, he walked towards the front door of the building, swearing he'd find a way back in.
Bao came out of the field office, not pleased, but he had managed to establish that the Admiral was actually less angry than she let on, but needed to play politics. He looked around, wondering where the other three had gotten to, as he couldn't imagine them having attempted to go far, but he did not see them immediately. In fact, it took him an almost shamefully long thirty seconds to realize that Colonel Storr was on the ground in a most undignified way. In fact, a small crowd was starting to form around him as Bao made his way over. He pushed his way through and knelt next to Storr, wracking his head for what could be going on. He tasked Sunny with finding the sensor that recorded the area as he looked at the other large man. Hopefully, he didn't regret this. "Colonel Storr," he said sharply.
Grumbling at the lack of effect, he paused as his muse managed to replay what had happened. He groaned and decided to be a little more direct. He grabbed the front of the Afrikaner's uniform and hit him across the jaw with a sharp crack. "Colonel, this is unbecoming! I would most appreciate it if you returned to your senses."
The earlier call didn't phase the Marine in the slightest but the right hook caused Garlake's eyes to roll from the back of his head to their rightful place, albeit at a slow pace and swerving path. It took several moments for his gaze to focus on Bao and his expression turned from pleasure to pain to confusion all at once.
"Wha..." he grunted, bringing his hand up to his jaw and rocking it back and forth. Nothing like getting in a fight you forgot to show up for. Shaking his head, he reached out and moved his hand to the Lagashi's shoulder to steady himself as they both rose. His eyes flicked left and right, rapidly assessing the situation as his senses flooded back.
"Where's Kaz and Mrazak? How long was I out?" Letting the questions hang for a moment, his sense of threat and the pressing crowd caused him to shake his head again. "Nevermind...we need to get going. Now."
He just hoped that the scientist knew more than he did at the moment.
Bao let the Colonel get to his feet as Sunny started sifting through the spimes scattered around the arcology. "It appears a few minutes," he said perhaps a little terse as his eyes glowed more brightly than normal. "I do not know where either is currently, though it appears Commander Linn either resisted whatever was done to you or threw it off himself. As for getting going, while not widely used, every inch of this arcology is covered in sensor spimes, cameras, networked systems and the like, a massive surveillance grid, if you like that is mostly accessible to anyone. I am using it to track their movements, but we are several minutes behind and it will take a few more to catch up to their current whereabouts unless you happen to know their commbadge's personal device addresses."
Storr's frown raised to neutral at the Lagashi's last statement. "That, I do have," he said as Garlake turned his forearm over and ripped open a cleverly hidden section of his uniform sleeve. It was a perfect place to keep sensitive information, especially with nearly everything digital; few thought to actually search people for physical cheat-sheets. His eyes running over the rows of coded text, he quickly entered several blocks into Bao's PADD. Handing the device back to Qiao, he met the man's gaze. "Lead on, Kemosabe."
"Not a problem. With that," the Lagashi trailed off. "Well, Lieutenant Linn is currently in a homosexual bathhouse, and Commander Mrazak is no longer aboard the arcology," he said, unsure if he should be amused, apalled, or worried. "This way."
By the time Bao and Storr found their way to the Yangzhou Bathhouse, they met Kaz out front.
Bao looked at Linn. "Commander, remind me next time to include etiquette for same-sex prostitution in the mission briefing, seeing as you cannot seem to control yourself."
Kaz scowled at the man, glancing back at the building. "Stow it. Some dude stole Mrazak and I chased them to this building," he said, pointing towards the door. "We've got to go in and save him."
"=^=Phantom to Field Team,=^=" said a voice with a lazy brogue that rang out over their combadges. A voice Storr and Kaz would recognize as Ryland. "=^=Commander says if you boys are done fuckin' around at the bathhouse, then he'd appreciate you strollin' back to the ship. Apparently his new friend shared something real important that y'all need to hear."=^=
Bao tapped his badge irritably. "=/\=You can tell the Commander that I invite him to kan gui, but we are on our way.=/\="
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